What: China Stopped Buying Oil from the US?

Everybody, and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Very, very excited to be with you. And this morning, this morning I woke up, and, uh, you kind of, you know, you wake up with this like level of energy and so forth. And, and for me was the question of Really, what is the, the meaning now of what I'm doing here? And it came to me that you are— and I mean it when I say this— you are one of those reasons for having meaning in life. And, and that's why I get excited when I get into having a conversation with the community. And this is much bigger picture than just talking about, you know, global affairs, geopolitics, and so forth. This becomes like the question about the meaning of life in itself, which we all of us ought to ask ourselves one way or one day. What is our meaning in life? So anyway, I know this is on philosophical aspects. We'll talk about this, and I'm going to put a question for you in the community Just be on a lookout for it, about a survey regarding this, because it's very, very important. Anyway, very, very excited to be with you because my presence has a meaning now with you. So, and I am, I am very, very excited about it. So I got an interesting topic for you today. I'll be talking about China's decision to stop purchasing oil, oil from the US. Now, here in the US, And I looked at the, the articles and I read for you, which I will provide you the link. It's reversed. It's saying that the US stopped selling or banned the sale of oil to China. There is one, one, one legislation that passed in Congress last year regarding this so-called ban. However, there was some recent conversation as of March of this year And I have the link. I digged deeper into this yesterday, spent the entire time looking into this, but came to the conclusion, no, no, no, no, no, no, they trying to provide the argument here in the US that it was the US that decided not to sell oil to China. It's not true. It's China decided not to buy oil from the United States. And I'll tell you why in this analysis. I'm going to share a lot of stuff with you regarding this aspect here because There is more than what meets the eye here, guys. This has nothing to do just with trade, okay? It has to do with other aspects, geopolitical ones, has to do with the BRI, has to do with the oil refineries, has to do with finance. There's a lot of moving parts into it, and that's what I am going to be sharing with you. Uh, some housekeeping before I launch into all this: be on the lookout tomorrow for a video analysis that I did, believe it or not, pertaining to this particular topic but from a different angle. Uh, this is like a, a 10-minute or 12-minute video, but it's an analysis. I wrote that stuff and, and argued, uh, uh, uh, the whole, uh, point as to why. So be on the lookout for that video tomorrow. And also wanted to, uh, I'm gonna post this for the community, but Regarding the topic for Monday, I have two very interesting topics, so two main ones. So I'm gonna put it in, in, in the community post later on, and I'd like to have you vote on which topic you want me to address first. I can do both, of course, and most likely might end up doing both. As a matter of fact, I might do this, but I like to have your input into all this, and, and, and I'll put it to vote for you guys. So, all right guys, I'm gonna get into this conversation here because there is a lot to cover. Uh, so good to see all of you here, guys. This time I'm gonna just zoom through. Uh, Matt, back in your role, Dr. O is becoming Grandmaster Oualaalou. That's funny, that's interesting. Anyway, let's, uh, let's talk about this, uh, uh to why China stopped buying oil from the US, of course. And I have some pictures I'm going to be sharing with you, and this is the oil barrels from oil from the United States in which China now made the decision. So, so the question, uh, and I have the questions for you guys like we always do, here are the questions we ought to ask. First of all, what prompts China to do so? Because that's a logical question to ask. Second question is, what are China's energy security concerns? China's decision didn't happen in a vacuum either. China is seeing what's going on on the global stage, and apparently it has to take the necessary measures to ensure access to oil. And third question— third question is, what is the future Global Energy Outlook. You know, you all heard about this green energy stuff, whatever. Don't fall for that. Don't fall for that. I know, I know China is building the electric vehicles, and yes, one of them has to do— one aspect has to do with the oil aspect. But also you have to look at the other side of the argument, that China just built the largest oil refinery in the world. It is a picture right there. That's a major— it's called Marjan platform, and I'm gonna get into all this. So, so to me personally, as, as a someone looking from outside in, China wanted to play it safe on both ends, having access and also ensuring that should there be any problem with this side, we have Plan B. That's the way I read it. But again, I'm gonna just share my analysis with you and turn it over to you guys to decide. So, well, we all know now that is official that China stopped or turned off the US oil spigot per se. And of course, this one, part of it has to do with the response, as it happened before to the US trade war that was launched by none other than President Trump, former President Trump, that is. Oh, by the way, I just got a word this morning that he might end up in jail. They might send him to Rikers Island jail for 1 year. I don't know, you know, to me it doesn't matter. You gotta be fair to the guy. That's— I don't care. Do I agree with his policy? No, no, the guy is not qualified for that. But do I just say, well, no, he needs to go? No, it's not right. Give the guy a fair trial, first of all. And, and, but anyway, he's the one who started this trade war, right? So back then, China decided, okay, we're gonna stop some of this, uh, import here. And, and this is what was reported through Forbes and even from Bloomberg. When I read it, and I'll provide you the links, it said, well, that China is barred. This is the— this is where this manipulation, guys. I want you by now, like I said before, by now I feel comfortable saying to you that you will be able to read between the lines so you don't just, uh, sort of reach the hastily, uh, your conclusion. So what Bloomberg saying is that China barred from buying oil reserves, uh, from the US. Yeah, there might be some truth to it to a degree, But let's, let's state why that is. So, and when you consider, as I mentioned, that China has built— let me share the picture once again with you guys, right there. So when you consider that China just built the biggest ever offshore oil platform, so, you know, you start to ask yourself, okay, are we talking about green energy transition here? So it's, it's common sense because you have to think in these two, uh, in these two aspects. Well, the way you look at it is you think about it from the aspects of that the two major, uh, aspects that came out of the world largest oil and gas companies, you know, because now it exposed the idea of, well, maybe this, this green energy transition, whether it's, it's nonsense. Yeah, it might be going on, right? But still, China will have to think about it from a different perspective because China holds two cards, one being the biggest oil importer and two being the largest consumer of energy. That's just common sense. There is no ifs and buts. And this is why when you hear the statements like, well, we, we barred the Chinese from— no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Let's take a step back some. Here is the thing. The, the, uh, IEA, the International Energy Agency— don't confuse this one with the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency— so the IEA, International Energy Agency, sort of, sort of in its latest report as far as 2024 global oil demands, it kept the the, the numbers where they are, not to rock the boat per se. But the reason they kept the forecast unchanged, because they didn't want to create more turmoil into the oil market, you know. However, they are saying that, well, we're gonna have to cut it down for the outlook of 2025, you know. Why is this? Here is the key, guys. You know why they said we're gonna have to trim it for 2025, citing the cause is the weak Chinese economic output or consumption, which I don't buy that argument. Yeah. Did the economy slow down a little bit in China? Yes, of course, like the rest of the world. But to blame it completely as to why the reduction in the oil consumption based on that, I kind of have some sort of second thought about that. So the report now that from the IEA advises now industrialized countries, that's— it's sort of a red flag. Uh, I, I, I kind of— hold on a second. Why aren't they talking about OPEC+ recent meeting, by which, by the way, they decided to extend production cuts which was announced, uh, uh, uh, sort of a few months ago, till about 2025. So, and this is what the group, the OPEC+, said, that it would extend the cut by about 1.65 million barrels per day. So to me, this is where this manipulation— and when I read this the first time, before I even decided to do a video for you guys about it, and I kind of like, no, the community deserve to know the truth for what it is, for, or how it is, instead of being manipulated into what the media saying. You know, here it is now, this, uh, article from Bloomberg saying that, well, it's due to the weak economic output in China, that's why we're gonna have to trim the outcome of the global oil consumption in 2025. But they didn't cite, they didn't cite the decision of OPEC Plus that decided to maintain the cut, the production cuts, for, uh, for 1.65 billion barrels a day. And that's, to me, it's manipulation, no more, no less. So, and I'm going to show you a graph here. I'm going to share it with you guys. Let me just get to the screen here, and I want you to see it. It's, uh, I think it's interactive. This, uh, this graph, if I can— we see, there we go. And this tracks back from 2017. So when you look at where the consumption is, and the red one, by the way, when you look at the graphs right here All those pertains to China and China's feedstocks. And this is the one I am referring to here. It dipped in during 2020. You all know what happened between 2019 and '22. We're not going to repeat that here on this because you know what it is. And by the way, that's what I talked about yesterday on the other location. For those who do not know, you might want to go there and check it out. I can't put the link here because the link has some keywords that will create issues here on this platform. So just go to the other platform, the R platform, and you'll find the, the live that I did over there. But here is the consumption, uh, look at it. For the fourth quarter of 2024, we've been looking at about 86.4 million barrels per day. And this is why I'm saying, you know, what they're saying versus what it is are two opposite things. And I kind of like, no, I will not allow you to mislead my community. I don't care for what others are doing. They have their own way of dealing with this, but this is how, how it is. I just want you to make sure, for you to understand where things are happening, uh, uh, why they are happening the way it happens. Now, as I mentioned earlier, there are some other aspects that goes just beyond the trade tensions that exist between the the US and China, let alone, for example, the recent announcements about the technology aspects of China regarding Huawei, you know. And I post this in the community. You all know why. You remember on that thumbnail what I put? The title is Hard Work Pays Off. Simple as that, you know. We are not competing hard enough. We don't have the brain power to do that kind of stuff because we are allocating the money to other stuff that has nothing to do with the welfare of the American people. Simple as that. While the Chinese went ahead and reinvested the surpluses they got over the years into building their own infrastructure, and you're seeing the results for that. And one of you guys put a comment, by the way, that, uh, he has— he or she has one of those bonds. He said it's incredible. So that, that's, that's one of, uh, uh, but beside all this, the idea of, and why it's important to understand the development of technology, because of the technology aspect is what allow China to go ahead and build one of the largest oil refineries. How do you think this is going to be managed? Technologically, of course you have to have manpower to manage all this and so forth, but you got the idea. So Now, the most important aspects of all this, as I mentioned, there are other elements involved into this, and I'm gonna provide you two or three to give you the big picture about all this. I'll start with the first one, and the first one, by the way, just happened yesterday because I checked it and it was published on August 15th, which was yesterday. I read foreign language, Arabic language, because this was in Iraq. Here is what happened in Iraq as of yesterday. Uh, this is— it says Professor Hayyan Abdel Ghani Sawad. He's the, uh, he's the head of the oil ministry in, in, in, in Iraq. So, uh, so I read up the article, uh, confirmed the information is that the Iraqi oil ministry announced the signing of contracts for developments of 13, 13 exploration areas of oil and gas. Guess who was the most beneficial out of all those contracts? I want you guys to type in, in the chat box, which country do you think won major— most of those 13 exploration, uh, most of these contracts? No. Before I'll, I'll detail more, I want to see, uh, uh, what you guys, uh, type in here. Which country in your opinion got the contract? Oh, Muhammad Alhamuri, you got it! It was China. CNN, you got it, China. Uh, China. Muslim Reaver, China. Atin Wu, China. You guys got it, it was China. I remember when I was in Iraq Way back, we got the word at the embassy at the time that the Iraqi government asked ExxonMobil to leave the north part of Iraq and turned over and gave the contract to the Chinese. We were so pissed, but at the same time, why should we be pissed? It's their country. They can decide to give the contract to whomever they want. Just because First of all, we went into the country under the wrong pretext, under a lie. So don't assume that they're gonna just welcome us with open arms. So when they made that decision, it became clear to me what lies ahead is, is, is not gonna bode well for the US. And here we are. So, so the ministry added the exploration agreements could increase production— get this, guys— by about 750 thousand barrels of crude and 850 million standard cubic feet of gas. And it says the contracts initialed on Wednesday, yesterday, uh, uh, were awarded on the 15th, awarded in a bidding around which was in May. I did a video for you guys in which I mentioned something about this one here, you know, and this one is dominated by Chinese companies. This is one of the other reasons as to why the Chinese think strategically about all this and saying, you know what, this is why I put in the, uh, in the thumbnail for this one here. I see you keep it. That's what President Xi— I'm, I'm just— he didn't say that. I'm just— that's my own thumbnail, by the way. And those are my words, but I— but the thinking of it, you got the idea, saying to the Americans, you keep it. I didn't want to use another word there. You know what it is, right? I'm being polite here. So, but, but see, to me, that's what the message is. And that's beside the trade war that exists, beside what we're doing, uh, to sort of, uh, provoke the Chinese. The Chinese going about it whitely, and this is one of them. And who's gonna end up holding the end of the stick? Can you guys guess? It's a continent. I'm giving you a heads up here. Who do you think is gonna already holding the end of the stick, which is bad? Oh, Jig— uh, Jigwag, uh, you wrote Uh, Dr. O, you know Senator Tom Cotton? Yeah, it's, it's, it's, uh, it's useless. It is as hypocrite as he can be. Yes, he stole the gold in Iraq. I was aware of his case. Shame on him. Yeah, shame on a guy calling himself a veteran, because a veteran will not steal. That's to me, there's some sort of ethical standards that, you know, he's another, you know, bought into the pockets of— you know what I mean. But you're right, you know, I did see that image. We were— this— I was disturbed by that. So, all right, which, which one holding the end of the stick? John Smith, you got it. Saleh, you wrote in Arabic Europa, which means Europe. You, you're absolutely correct. And this is why Chinese were smart about it enough ahead of time. And this, by the way, didn't start a few months ago, didn't start 2 or 3 or 4 years ago. This goes back to almost 2014, and I will tell you why later on, because I did a presentation by which I addressed this, and I will show you the same slide that I used back then, and it will make more sense to you. So this is one of the reasons as to why the idea of, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the Chinese decided to move forward with this. So, so when you think about the Chinese in a recent year strategic thinking regarding energy security. That is very, very important given what's going on in South China Sea, the tensions that we are fomenting. And I just found out about something we just did 3 days ago regarding AUKUS, something major. I'm gonna dig deeper into that. I do not know the details yet, but I'm gonna look into this. So China was of course thinking far ahead into, uh, this strategic move as far as the import of oil. Because remember, China needs to have access to oils, you know, away from the United States. And this is why the Chinese went ahead and sort of diversified their sources of import from a variety, especially now from the Global South. And particularly, you all know which countries, right? Within the BRICS? Mainly 3, uh, give or take Brazil, give or take South Africa, but there are only 3 countries that matter regarding when it comes down to China's energy import. Which countries are— what are they, those 3 countries? If you can type it in the chat box, please. Remember, they are BRICS. All right, let me see again. And once again, guys, the whole idea of this is to engage you in the conversation, no more, no less. All right, let me see what you guys type in. Uh, Matt Backy, you got it, you got it. Athene Wu, you got it also. It's just you missed one country there. Yeah, you guys got it. There's three, there's three or four countries Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. I won't count too much on United Arab Emirates because those are still wishy-washy, but I will go with Iran, I will go with Saudi Arabia, I will go of course with Russia, which I will highlight to you another aspects to why China made that decision. So, and this is why China's kind of strategic thinking was about we got to think at a level where we have to ensure the energy security Because China's vision was built on three aspects, in my opinion, in my own analysis. One is energy security, two is geopolitics, and three is economics. All of them have same objective. That is the reason why, because all of them converge in one aspect and one aspect only, which is to secure and more diversified resilient— that is the key word— resilient energy supply chain while strengthening economic ties with the Global South. That's what's at the heart of it. So, and of course, there is another element here which I am gonna share with you, of course, as part of our conversation, and it will make more sense to you. Let me share the screen. I truly enjoy being here with you guys. It's, it's, to me, that's, that's, that's again that really, really meaning in life. I wish I had the book here. Uh, I'll get it next time. A book that I read, it's called The Search of Meaning in One's Life. Very, very, very interesting. So to me This is meaningful, meaningful being with you and talking, talking here. Makes perfect sense. Here is the thing that I wanted to share with you. This one here, you all know what this is, of course. That's the Strait of Hormuz. Why is this important? Once again, think the big picture. What was the video I just did recently about China announcing it's backing for Iran? Because remember, when you look at the Strait of Hormuz— and let's look at the pictures together here— when you look at this Strait of Hormuz, and this Strait of Hormuz is not that wide, Iran went already and landmine all this, put some, some sort of devices in the water just in case. So, and this is why the US will not get closer there. The Israelis will not get closer there. And the Chinese, on the other hand, we're thinking in terms of, is there announcements? And this is a question for you: is there, is there, or was there announcements hint at a military provision of certain type of weaponry? In your opinion, yes or no? In your opinion, do you believe that the Chinese announcements of backing Iran hint at the provision of certain weaponry. And if it is, in my opinion, it will be for this particular aspect, to ensure access to energy. Why? Because think about it, 30% of the world liquefied gas And 25% of the oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. That's why it's important to understand. So the answer question, you said, uh, Alex Talokin, you said no, that's Russia's job. Uh, I see your point, but I also see it differently, because if we are to say that is only Russia's job then what will we be saying about the, the, the, the, the visit of the Russian president to North Korea? And how did China see that or perceives that? So this is why you have to think about it from the, uh, those who said yes. To me, it's the idea of ensuring access to energy, because remember, now there are only two other countries that's considered main oil producer oil exporters to China— Russia and Saudi Arabia. And now you add Iran to the mix. So, and Iran, by the way, is already increasing its exports of oil. And where that, that oil is going to come, uh, through? It's going to have to come through the Strait of Hormuz. And not just for Iran, it's for other countries. And that's, to me, As I argued in my Rambok, and I said my word back then, and I shared it, I don't want to repeat myself here, but the idea that, uh, if, if it comes to the point where China will have to step in to protect its strategic interest, it will do so. China also thinking in terms of, I rather ensure that access there because I also know the potential— and I use the word here carefully— the potential blockade in the Malacca Strait. Because we obviously, we the Americans, already have that in plan. I'll tell you this right now. So, and this is why I'm, I'm thinking of it in those terms. So, so when you think about the Strait of Hormuz, when you think about China's announcements about backing Iran, and when you think about, uh, China stopping the import of oil from the US, you put the two and two together, uh, uh, uh, the big picture, that is. So now, because you have to remember one thing, is that the whole idea of China's relationship with the Middle East revolves around what? Energy. You know, of course China does sell some weapons to certain countries there, you know, mainly of course Iran, but even the Saudis have purchased some type of missiles from the Chinese. As a matter of fact, the Saudis just, uh, uh, reached an agreement with the Chinese regarding the manufacturing of drones. They didn't reach out to the US for that. And this is one of the topics I want to do for you guys next week because it's very, very, very important for you to know. And I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, uh, I'll put it in the community later on. So, so, and this is why in 2014— that brings me back to my argument earlier about the presentation that I made in 2014. Yeah, to me it is the fascination of geopolitics. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Supplies. In 2015, China officially became the biggest global importer of crude oil, with almost half of its supplies coming from the region. So, so when you think about the region as a strategic crossroad for trade route and sea linking Asia to Europe and Africa, The region West Asia is important for the future of the BRI. That's another element added to why China made the decision he made. It's very, very important because China thinking in terms of the, uh, of the establishing, you know, different hubs different sources of import. So that's the way I see it. And, and, and, uh, I will be doing, uh, I know a friend of mine, uh, asked me to do a presentation for him, for his entourage. It's one of those, uh, about, uh, uh, Central Asia, Euroasia, that is, uh, very, very important to understand all this. And this is one of the reasons why China's thinking about it strategically. So of course, as I mentioned, we cannot ignore the political and economic tensions that exist between the United States and, and, and the U— and, uh, and China regarding trade. And this is why, to Chinese, they're saying to themselves, wait a second here, if we're gonna be depending on whatever, however, how many, however amount we brought, we buy How— however amount we buy from the US, it's gonna be very precarious for us to put that or to count on that. Why? Because the Americans can flip on us in no time, which, by the way, that's what we do. That's why there is that lack of credibility. It's gone. So when you take, for example, the US-China trade war, then you take the subsequent tariffs that exist All this in the Chinese thinking, they're saying it as— which is true, I agree with that assessment— they're saying it as risks for dependency on the US energy supplies. We ain't gonna do that. The Europeans now doing it because the Europeans are buying energy from the US at 10 times the price. But Europeans are weak, you all know this by now. Even what's going on in England, do you have, guys, an idea who's funding that? Who do you think funding the turmoil that's going on in UK? Let me see in the chat box if you can type that in, please. Which country, in your opinion, is funding the turmoil in the UK? Taiwan, still. You got it. Uh, no, not, not the Vatican. The Vatican will do it differently. Uh, not the Mossad directly. Not France. Saleh, you got it. Is the US. Is the US. The money is coming from the US. So, and this is part of where the Chinese thinking, you know what, it makes perfect sense. Of course it makes perfect sense, diversifying the sources of oil, uh, import. Yeah, because if China doesn't do that, it's going to become vulnerable, and, and you don't want to do that for an economy the size of China. You don't want to depend on one source And you don't want to depend on unreliable suppliers. That's like you doing business. When you do business with, with another, uh, uh, merchant, whatever, and you find out, uh, they tell you, yeah, we'll have the product for you tomorrow at 1200 hours. Then you go to get your product and said, oh, sorry, it didn't, uh, we'll do it tomorrow. You might let it go one time, but second time you say, we're done here. Because you are unreliable. That is the same arguments I made, uh, way back and still stand by my decision regarding why China is doing it that way. Now, when you think about the US sanctions of other countries, and, and especially the ones that deal with oil trade, you know, and this is why for Iran and China, for Russia and China, for Saudi Arabia and China, all they end up doing is, you know what, we're gonna send oil to China, but we're gonna get a payment in a different currency, so we don't have to even depend on the US dollar for that matter. It's a win-win. It's a win for the Saudis, the Iranians, the Russians. It's a win for the Chinese. They don't have to depend solely on one particular country. And this is why the This idea of the, uh, uh, oil trade, uh, companies that are sanctioned by the US is sort of kind of convinced the Chinese it's now or never. Chinese are already aware of the plan that we have regarding the Malacca Strait. I am sure, I am sure there is a plan The Chinese have somewhere, it just for its own time when that time comes. And this is why they decided, they, the Chinese in this case, decided to go with reliable partners, mainly in the Global South. Because if you think about the Global South, where are the energy sources? In the US? No. In UK? No. In the West? No. You have them in the Global South. Look at just Africa right now. And this is why they are going, uh, like what I talked about yesterday on the other location. That's why they're gonna now creating issues for Africa, because Africa kicked out imperialists, colonialism, that is. So time for them to work and benefit from their own resources. China is looking at it that way, in terms of this is where the future is. Strengthen the partnership with the Global South. And that's why they end up doing— making the decision that they made, let alone the idea of doing this business in other currency beside the US dollar. Simple as that. Simple as that. Because this will even further expedite the process of de-dollarization. Chinese doing it in a subtle way. If there is one thing I've learned so far and I do not claim to know. If I learned one little thing about China, they don't need to boast about what their achievements are. They're very quiet about it. You don't have to look at their history. So to them, to me, in my opinion, China's doing it quietly by de-dollarizing the world from the US dollar. I say smart move. It's because this shift in itself will, will have, will have a major impact. Yeah, look at, look at Europe right now. I don't need to tell you. For my viewers who live in Europe, you are a better witness. You're there, you see with your own eyes. So, and when you consider, and I, by the way, I read a comment by Hang NG. 4414. And by the way, guys, if you ever get a chance to read his comments, very, very spot on. He wrote, and I quote, uh, price of a barrel Brent crude is about $81 against the chaos and geopolitics of West Asia and the Red Sea. A barrel of oil is affordable. Spot on, Dr. O. Uh, He spelled my whole name, Dr. Oualaalou. Uh, Beijing declined the oil offers from the US. These are troubled times for OPEC+. Beijing appreciates her many friends far and near. If you look after China, she will be a good friend for 5,000 years. I'm, I'm sure he's referring to the history of China way back. Thank you for sharing that, by the way. So Then comes another element within this big picture that I am trying to provide you my own insights so you have an understanding. First, I mentioned briefly the BRI. I mentioned the Strait of Hormuz, which is the, uh, decision why China openly or publicly announced its backing of Iran. Then I mentioned that the OPEC+ decision to maintain the production cuts till 2025. So there is another element. By the way, I have one of the largest here oil tankers. These are Chinese, uh, uh, oil tankers here. You know, those are massive ones. Uh, there is another element, uh, uh, that I need to share with you, uh, and I'll get to it soon, but let me talk about another aspect you need to consider in this thinking. It has to do with Euro-Asia role into this. So when you think about China's rapid economic growth, which we all know over the past two decades, wasn't last year or whatever, so, uh, it's, it's very, very important. Uh, there is one article that I came across from, uh, I think even the American Foreign Policy Council. Yeah, sometimes you have to read certain aspects to find out the accuracy of the information, and I did read it, uh, and, and, and I concur with it. You know, not all of them— sometimes if they are pushed by the government to change the narrative, they will do it. This one was fine, uh, uh, and I quote here: China's rapid growth, economic growth over the past two decades has required significant resources Beginning in the mid-2000s, the, the planet's second largest economy began looking at Central Asia as a major source of energy, as a market for Chinese goods, and a potential transit area to other parts of the world. What comes to mind right away, guys, is the BRI. Straightforward. Two infra— two infrastructure projects in particular greased the skids for increasing energy export to China from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Why Kazakhstan? And I mentioned this to you before, guys, because Kazakhstan has a lot of natural resources under its soil. As a matter of fact, uh, of course the governments will not want to disclose this one because that pertains to— it's like the Saudis, and I'll give you a quick example. Saudis will never disclose the amount of oil reserves they have. We've been trying this for the last 3 decades or so through different means— the intelligence, the— you name it. We were never able to find out the exact number. Why? Saudis never wanted to disclose that because you become vulnerable if you disclose that information. What I can tell you based on what I know as one who spent time in, in DC. This is not classified, by the way. The, uh, oil reserves in Kazakhstan, to my knowledge, they are far greater than those in the Middle East. So put the two together and think about it. And the only problem in Kazakhstan, or the whole region, is it's a rugged terrain. That is one of the problem there. So Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uh, uh, because what you have to think about here, you have to think about the China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline. This is where the role of Euroasia comes in. So, and this, by the way, the phase of it started way back in 2002 or 2003, somewhere around that time. That's how far back we go. Yeah, you're looking at about, uh, uh, about 400,000 barrels a day that will be crossing, uh, from Kazakhstan into China's Northwest Xinjiang region. That's what it will be. The second one has to do with Turkmenistan, and I did a video for this. It's there, guys, if you can check it out, whatever. Sometimes The one from Turkmenistan goes through none other than Uzbekistan. So you have Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and China. That's this for natural gas pipeline. Don't, don't, don't, don't confuse oil with gas, two separate aspects of it. So, and, and that's— and I'll provide you the link for all this. Now, it was another article that I had a chance to read from the Caspian Policy Center. And I'll provide you the link for it. Uh, and this one was written— let me get the name of the individuals because you got to give credit where credit is due. Uh, this one was written by Mere Ozat. That's the— and this one goes back to the— again, uh, if, if I bring this picture for you, it might ring a bell for you guys. This is the summit that took place in Euroasia about few, uh, just 2 years ago, year and a half, 2 years, somewhere around that time. An old one here. So that's what it was. There's another one here. So funny, I kept these pictures. I said one day they're gonna become useful. So, and, and here it is. So Uh, so the article, uh, which was, as I said, written by Emre Ozat, he argued— and I couldn't agree more— he argued that China's expanding geopolitical interest in Central Asia and its aspiration to supplant Russia's influence following, of course, the Ukraine, uh, conflict. So now it became Sort of fait accompli. And that also highlight to you one other aspect: China's influence in Central Asia. Because remember, BRI, what those countries are all interested in? Economic prosperity. The same way Iraq end up giving the contract to the Chinese companies, not the Americans. Economic prosperity, it's what matter. So, and all these new investments, uh, that China did in that part of the world totaled about $63 billion, to my knowledge. And I will, I will share all, uh, link with you. So, and like I mentioned, think about it this way: for China to be building, uh, this oil refinery here, it ain't gonna happen in a vacuum. No, no, you're gonna have to think about it in those terms. There is an important aspect to all this. Then comes another, another region that you cannot ignore, and this one has to do with Siberia. Can't ignore the pipeline that China invested in. Just look at this map and see where that pipeline is coming from and going to. And when I am in Asia, I intend to look into this, especially in this location in Shanghai. So I'm gonna take a look at that too, I just for my own curiosity. This is what's important to understand. So because China has been in, uh, has been investing into these pipelines with the Russians. This is what I want you— and that's why it's important to understand this dynamic. So now let me take you to what I argued back then that still applies today. So I'm gonna share a link with you, uh, of an article that I wrote back then, and I'll put it in the description, in the chat box for you guys for later on if you want to read it, because I was, uh I was a contributor to the Huffington Post back then. So, so what I argued back then, and this one has to do with the first trip of none other than King Salman. Why is this important, guys? It's because you have to understand, even though this happened a few years ago, but still the This is the strategic thinking where it comes from. So I argued back then, what is one to make out of King Salman of Saudi Arabia's recent trip to visit, meaning back then? So the answer is the kingdom's worries about the economic and security impact of the inevitable shift in global geopolitics. That's what I argued back in 2000, uh, whatever that year it was. Though I am not surprised at this visit given the fact that the kingdom is reassessing its economic and security priorities to secure its interest, I found it— here is what I found interesting— I found it unusual that the Saudi King visits China before the United States, though it has been customary for the Saudi monarch to officially visit the newly elected US president at the White House. Equally important, having King Salman visit China first before the United States promotes China's visibility and status on the global stage. Similarly, King Salman's visit reaffirmed China's desire to increase its presence in the Middle East as part of its quest for resources. As a result, access to more markets and increase of its global influence on par with its economic heft. Recall Chinese President Xi last year before the Arab League, because he's the one who addressed the Arab League, when he indirectly referred to American presence in the Middle East as diminishing and that China could be seen as an alternative. That is my point, guys. That's why those kind of— when you do analysis, you're gonna have to understand the big picture. Nothing happens in a vacuum. And that is what prompts me to go ahead and do this video for you, because you're gonna be hearing or seeing in YouTube, whatever, you know how it is with YouTube, so sensationalism. I gotta protect you from that. Of course you can watch whatever you want, you are free to do whatever you want. It's just you have to ensure what's going on. So now I'm gonna share one last thing with you from my book that I wrote about Saudis regarding these aspects to make sense to you, then I will answer some of your questions. So Uh, to those who might not be aware that I posted, uh, this, uh, book on, uh, uh, for those who wants to buy it, it's like what, $8, whatever. So here's the link should you be interested. It's, it's an interesting read, not because I wrote it, but, but you will— it will make more sense to you. So why that is— so what I argued back then is the idea that, uh,, the Saudis and the Chinese. So it is important to note that the China-Saudi relations are one type of for convenience and reciprocity on two fronts, economic and geopolitics. So Saudi Arabia realizes the shift of wealth from the West to the East is already underway. As a result, the Desert Kingdom, Saudi Arabia that is, chose to pre-possess itself for maximum benefits from the economic boom anticipated in Asia and led by China. This is why you're seeing, guys, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain— Bahrain to a degree, Kuwait to a degree— but those key countries that matter regarding energy— Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Qatar in energy. All of them pivoted east. Saudi Arabia's, Saudi Arabia's pivot towards China is driven by the political shift taking place in the region as much as it is driven by economic opportunities that lie ahead. So, and this is where you need to understand why I shared with you the article about King Salman's visit to Saudi Arabia, because when he went there, by the way And I remember this because I did the research and wrote. He signed an agreement with China of about $65 billion on the first day of his visit to Beijing. So that just, to me, it's a, it's no-brainer. So, uh, on other aspects within the book, I wrote, as a result, China decides to increase its economic cooperation with the Saudis to ensure access to energy. In addition, to expanding cooperation in defense and other areas. Once again, this is why it was, uh, it was an author by the name Minnie Chen, and I quoted her on this one here, argued that a Chinese military website and military expert said Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company has signed a protocol with China's Aerospace Long March International Trade for drone production line at the Binhai International Defense Exhibition that took place in Dubai at that time. So, and this is why you have to understand this dynamics, because the reason is, this is why you always have to keep close eyes on the West Asia, uh, geopolitical changes that's taking place. And, and as I mentioned before, For those who might not know my academic background, my focus is West Asia. It's because I spend not only time, but I did extensive research regarding those countries there. So, so when you think about the political developments in West Asia, it is an endless undertaking, to say the least. And this is why to China, it sees the cooperation, for example, with Saudi Arabia and Iran and United Arab Emirates and Qatar, Turkey to a degree, from a different perspective. But specif— specifically with Saudi Arabia, from an economic viewpoint, China figures that it makes more sense to secure access to energy from two top oil producers in the region, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Of course, we all know that later on China was able to broker a deal between these two. Though I still do not trust the Saudis much. So, uh, and the reason why, uh, so China did this is to support its economic machinery. And as I argued back then, I said this undertaking by the Chinese is most likely to go on for many years to come. And here we are. So that's my point. I just want you guys to understand the— how these things work, to put it in perspective. And this is why I have those, uh, two topics for next week, major ones. But, uh, uh, I, I can share them with you right now. As far as, uh, there are two— one about Canada and one about Saudi Arabia. So, and I'm gonna put a survey for you guys to tell me which one you prefer that I address first, then I'll do the other one. Otherwise, I can go ahead and pick one and do it. So I, I like to have your feedback. I like— regarding Saudi Arabia, this one has to do with the fear of MBS being assassin— assassinated, I'm sorry, because he just disclosed that to US lawmakers. So, so, and again, if I am to, uh, uh Talk about— I'm not surprised because I argued in my book right here. I started with that assumption. So the other one is about Canada sending weapons to Israel, media staying mum about it. So that's why I'm saying whatever topics you guys would like me to do first, and I'd be happy to do it. Okay, all right, that's all I have to share with you today. By the way, I am working on inviting— I'm working on a guest, is Professor Morandi. I hope can make it here. So Mike Malouf, you all remember him, guys. And I will bring Mike here, uh, he's going to help me out with this because he's a friend of his, uh, he's a friend of, uh, uh, uh, Professor Marandi. I tried to reach out to him, the emails that I sent end up in spam. So I asked him if he could just reach out to him and let him know that I'm interested and the community will benefit from. So we see Maybe if it is, it will be next week. Otherwise, I am working on my other guests that I'm gonna have. And remember, it's the— is the summer, a lot of people, uh, travels and so forth. So, which I do not like to travel in the summer. So, all right guys, uh, I am done here. I am gonna, uh, once again, by the way, I'll take this opportunity like always to express my thanks to those who are supporting the channel, those who are supporting my upcoming Asia trip. And yes, it is upcoming. Uh, I will not disclose the dates, I will not disclose the locations. You all know— no, not an insult to anybody, but you all know how, how things work. So, uh, you're smart enough to know. So, uh, but it is upcoming. And, uh, so I just want to express my, uh, sincere thanks. And again, this goes back to my first point that I talked to you about as far as really What is the meaning, your meaning in life? Where you find meaning? And once you find that, you will be happier. So I, I, I really, I'm, and I say it, it's, I, I get up, I get up in the morning when, when, especially when I am scheduling, uh, that I already scheduled, for example, a livestream with you. I'm so excited from the morning till I have my coffee at about 11 o'clock. Then I get ready for 12 because I'm so excited because the meaning, what it means to me, what it means to me. And again, that, that, that's, that's what I feel, that's what I feel. Anyway, let me answer some questions from you guys if you have any questions, and we just go from there. New comment, let me see. Uh, Goborg Ninja, that is true, that is true. You know, life is a journey worth fulfilling. I agree with you. You want to leave when you check out, you have done something that contributed to humanity. To me, I find this very rewarding to me, and again, this is for me. This is for me, son. Uh, uh, Casual Walk, on your comment earlier, you know, um, this US— what does US gain? Uh, it's the US through— is through the lobbyists here. It's because the more tensions you foment against the Muslim community, the easier for you to identify Now we personified an enemy and all the attention will have to do— just go back to, to the war on terror. That should be enough reason for you to, uh, understand why that is. Uh, uh, so this is the idea of, uh, why, uh, and, and, and the UK has been going downhill economically speaking because, I mean, you think about Part of their taxes going out supporting the monarchy's lifestyle. And again, it's their country. Who am I to come? I'm not— ain't my business, you know. I, I used to go through London, just passing through, whatever. But you know, I have nothing against England. I have not— of course I will not forget what they have done to other countries, the stolen, uh, resources and all that. So they should return the stolen items to the rightful owners, including gold to Venezuela and India, including, including artifacts in museums. When you go to the art museum in London, whatever, some artifacts there have been stolen from Egypt and from Africa and all that stuff. So they need to return that, those kind of, uh, that's to me what a right tank is all about. But again, the whole reason for this one is, uh, uh, has to do with the idea of Uh, you gotta create these tensions against Muslims and, and, and to shift the, the attention of the world. So that's the reason why. Uh, next question. Uh, Dr. Oualaalou, can I get a copy of your book on Russia? I didn't upload it yet. I am waiting for word from the publisher. I reached out to a lawyer because I want to make sure things are done correctly and right. And the moment I get the word, I'm gonna upload it, uh, for you. Of course, I don't charge $100 for a book. That's what the publisher— again, it's there. This is why my next book about China ain't gonna be through a publisher. I'm not doing it. I, I realize the, the, uh, you know, and, and I'll tell you guys straightforward because honesty is, is important to me. And you You can't be cherry-picking here, you know. You put your heart and soul in the research for 2 or 3 years, or 4, sometimes even up to 5, you know. You end up having the book, they'll, they'll, uh, they'll give you an agreement, they'll pay you $500, and they go ahead and, and, and charges $120 for the book. To me, I know, right? It's not about just the money, but still, there are efforts that been put years of hard work and research that, you know, I had to give up my weekends, I had to give up so many things to write the books. And again, yes, I want to help people learn and all that stuff, but so I made the decision, no more publisher. I'm not gonna go with any publisher. Harvard approached me for my last book, and I said, no, I can't trust you because you're gonna take it and start manipulating. You tell me, well, we need to change this. No, we need to change that, because that's what the publishers do if they want to prove it. Well, I don't give a damn about your status that my book is published by Harvard. I don't care for that stuff, you know, nothing. So as soon as I found out, I will, I will let you know, let all of you. I'll, I'll, I'll post it for you guys. All right, let me see one more question. Uh, Hank, thank you for, for being here, and thank you for your comments, man. I read, I read your stuff. Appreciate it. Uh, okay, one more question. And once again, appreciate you keeping it civil here, guys. For now, I just trust you that I don't need to keep looking And if you see anything that is not right, please put it here so I can see it and take the person out. Uh, question, Johans, are you going to have Carlza again? Yes, of course. Uh, Carl, Carl and I, we meet once a month at the end of the month, and I usually give him heads up, usually by, uh, uh, uh Yeah, I will, I will. Okay, one— let me see one more if there is one. And by the way, guys, once again, remember to go check out the other, uh, location where I did the live yesterday. Go take a look because you need to be aware of what's coming. So, uh, uh, question, M White, question: as countries move towards solar panel— solar power, I'm sorry, solar power and green energy, why does the West worry about China, India, and other oil-producing countries? It's not green energy policy in the future. Yeah, it's— we don't know why. We don't know, uh, this green energy stuff, whatever. I know for us here in the US, it, it's— I, I don't trust what the government's saying anyway. I won't trust what they're saying. So, so they're worrying about because the economy in the Global South, when you have emerging economies moving up the ladder, the West doesn't like that. They will not like that because the demise is inevitable. And that's what I did that video about. I don't know if you get a chance to see it, about why American foreign policy is a mess. It's part of it also because we are not willing to cooperate with other countries. We are fomenting just more tensions because we don't want other countries to prosper. That's, that's usually where, uh, where that is. Uh, yes, you are right, Stepan, a drilling platform. What did I say? Uh, oh, I said— okay, well, here is the thing, because I do have the oil refinery image. Let me, let me bring it up here because I want to make sure. And sometimes, guys, I make mistakes, and, and I am glad, uh, you are, uh, helping me out here by pointing that out. And, uh, and thank you for doing that. So here is the picture of the oil refinery, one of the largest in— for China. Present. There we go. And, uh, and I, I'll put the link for you guys. China is quickly becoming the world largest refiner, and this was an article by Irina Slav. She's an oil, uh, uh, oil, uh, writer. She writes about oil, energy, and so forth. So, uh, and, and this was confirmed by the, by the way, by the IEA. The International Energy Agency is saying that China is on its way to becoming the country with the greatest oil refining capacity in the world, you know. And I knew that back then when I did the research. You know why? Because the Saudis agreed to build a $10 billion refinery in China but did not want to upgrade the oil refineries in Houston, right here in the state of Texas where I live. So, so it became clear to me. So, so thank you for pointing that out. So yes, is that drilling the first one, and second one is oil refinery. Uh, okay, last question if there is one here. Otherwise, I'm gonna sign off because I have an appointment I need to go attend to. Uh, Matt Backey, how is the 25-year agreement between Iran and China progressing? It's been a few years and we haven't seen, read much about tangible changes. Any development news? Wasn't about $400 billion investment? It was, uh, and I remember reading an article about it. If I can dig out the article, I'll post it for you guys in the community. Uh, it's, it's, it's on a— by the way, this, to my knowledge back then, it wasn't about just one aspect. That included telecommunications, it included the hydro, uh, the hydro energy, uh, I think has to do with pipelines and exploration of the field, some fields. And I think part of it has to do with the military weaponry as well. So, uh, but, and finance, and finance. Those are the four elements that I was aware of. Yes, I haven't read much about it. Will be nice if, uh, uh, when I talk to Professor Morandi, I'll ask him about this because I had it in my mind that it will be one of the questions I will ask. But I will dig up the article and post it for you. But again, it won't be much in it because I wrote it back then when the deal just was signed at that time. Uh, okay, let me see one more, one more, one more, one more. Uh, and by the way, guys, you know, want you enjoy your weekend and, uh uh, and just go from there. Be safe whatever you're doing, and don't eat outside. Yeah, don't eat outside. I mean, you know what I mean by outside— Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, and all that stuff. Yeah, don't. Uh, all right guys, I am going to sign off here. I hope you find this, this live stream interesting, you learned something, and I look forward to seeing you next time. As always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, bye-bye.